Larapinta Trail

I would like to connect with anyone who has done the Larapinta Trail. A friend and I are planning to do this in July or August of this year and would just like to hear from anyone who can share their experience and provide information and advice. Cheers, Hazel

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Walked 13 days of the Larapinta a few years ago (missed the harder section around Standley Chasm).
Not sure what you need to know, the NT national parks support maps and publlications cover most of the practical aspects of the walk.
Just a few things:
At the time you are going, the night temperatures will be quite cold. Expect frost in the mornings, so have suitable clothing and sleeping gear. The walk is mainly between 700 and 1000 metres, with the last day on Mt Sonder up to over 1300m. You don't need to go up Mt Sonder, but you shouldn't miss it, and it will be very cold.
My strong preference is to walk it east to west, which means organizing a lift back from the end at Red Bank Gorge. We worked that out with Glen Helen resort. For much of the walk Mt Sonder looms on the western horizon - it certainly draws you on.
If you do a bit of local research into the current water situations when you get to Alice Springs, you won't get caught out, and you won't needlessly burden yourself with too much water.

Hi Ian, thanks for responding. I will go online and source the maps. When would be the best time to do the hike? I know the trail is closed from November to March inclusive. Did you have a back up support driver to do food drops? We hope to do end to end if it takes us a bit longer but don't know how it compares to other walks in WA. Were there any people along the way when you did the walk? Kind regards

Myself and few friends completed the Larapinta Trail end to end from Redbank Gorge in July 2005. I have written up our experiences from then at http://aushiker.com/larapinta-trail/ Happy to help as best as I can if you have any specific questions.

It really depends how you plan to do your walk, and which sections, as they vary in scenery and difficulty. July and August is a great time to walk the trail. I've walked this fantastic trail twice, the full length on both occasions once in July and once in August and once from West to East, the other East to West.

I went out to do it April last year. Only got three days done thanks to a hike stopping blister that got infected no mater the first aid I did to it. Have unfinished business. We were doing it West to East. Did the food drops on the way out to Mt Sonder. We got a local transporter person to do the drops including us (my friend and I). April was still way to hot at times, and freezing at times. A month later would have been great. They have put in more tanks then what I had read about through other people's experiences which makes it much easier. This however, would require research closer to the time to make sure the tanks have a good supply when you go. The Larapinta website has lots of information about everything includng how to register, etc. It is amazing country. As I said, I have unfinished business and will be back to finish it.